Kevin McCloud: my secret #granddesignsbingo drinking game

Kevin McCloud claims he made an episode of his Channel 4 show Grand Designs to
please fans of the #granddesignsbingo drinking game

McCloud said he and the production team deliberately littered one episode with phrases that fit a drinking game Photo: Rex

By Anita Singh and Agencies

5:25PM GMT 13 Nov 2014

Grand Designs host Kevin McCloud claims he made an episode of the show “deliberately designed to get people as drunk as possible” after discovering fans were using his script as the basis for a drinking game.

The long-running Channel 4 show follows couples designing and building their dream home – invariably with a spiraling budget and disasters along the way.

Problems that regularly arise include the participants running out of money mid-way through the build, being forced to spend Christmas in a caravan when work over-runs, suppliers coming up with bespoke fittings that don’t fit, and the female half of the partnership falling pregnant during the project.

Online games urged players to have a drink every time they heard a particular term or theme. Others tweeted under the hashtag #granddesignsbingo.

Speaking at a media event this week, McCloud said he and the production team deliberately littered one episode with phrases that fit the game.

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“We actually wrote an entire programme around the drinking, and it’s covert. So one of the programmes is deliberately designed to get people as drunk as possible.

“There are all kinds of rules, like every time I use the word ‘bespoke’ it’s a double shot; the wife gets pregnant half way through, that’s a treble.”

The online guide explains: “The owners end up living in a caravan during the build to save money/because they have run out of money.

“Bonus points (or an extra drink) if they are in the caravan over Christmas. Bonus points (or an extra drink) if the owners are expect a baby while living in a caravan. Extra bonus points (or finish the drink) if they are still living in a caravan when the baby is born.”

Fans on the 'Grand Designs Drinking Game' Facebook page claimed the episode in question was episode five of series 11, as McCloud "pointed out very emphatically and straight to camera" that he was wearing a hard hat - one of the things that earned a drink.

Channel 4 said no episode had been deliberately made with the game in mind. A spokesman said: “It is not true that an episode of Grand Designs was made with a drinking game in mind. Kevin made these comments in jest.”